Author: megs14malloy

Review: Into the Windwracked Wilds (The Up-And-Under #3) by A. Deborah Baker

~ megs14malloy

Into the Windwracked Wilds (The Up-and-Under, #3)Into the Windwracked Wilds by A. Deborah Baker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬 🌈🌬

Into the Windwracked Wilds is the third installment to Seanan McGuire’s, writing here as A. Deborah Baker, The Up-and-Under series.

This fantastical series is connected to McGuire’s tour de force of SFF, Middlegame, and is perfect for Readers of all ages.

If you haven’t read the first two books in this series, Over the Woodward Wall and Along the Saltwise Sea, proceed with a little bit of caution, as some things I mention herein could be considered spoilery.

Now is your chance to turn back. I am only saying this once.

The series follows two children, Zib and Avery, who upon a normal commute to school one day encounter a giant wall where it shouldn’t be. Together they decide to go up and over this wall, thus finding themselves in a different world, known as the Up-and-Under.

In the first novel, they travel through a magical forest while following the improbable road and the second book finds them traversing the Saltwise Sea. Along the way they collect new friends, encounter challenges to overcome and enemies to out-maneuver.

After a final, very Pinocchio-esque, adventure on the Saltwise Sea, Avery, Zib, the Crow Girl and Niamh, finally find themselves on dry land.

More specifically, they’ve entered the Land of Air, ruled by the intimidating Queen of Swords, who is known to have a habit of turning people into monsters. Although, by this definition the Crow Girl would be considered a monster and we love the Crow Girl!

It doesn’t take long before they come across Jack Daw, the Queen’s son, but he’s giving off a serious vibe that he’s not too crazy about Mommy Dearest.

Can he be trusted though, or is he playing double agent with our intrepid heroes?

They eventually end up at the castle and have to stay on their toes at all times to avoid being tricked by this Queen. She is a devious one indeed.

Will they all be able to make it out in one piece? At this point, Zib and Avery are beyond ready to get home to their parents. But the Queen of Swords is tricky and coming out on top is going to take all their mental stamina. She may be their biggest challenge yet.

After a bit of a slow start, this wrapped up with an absolutely beautiful ending. Once they finally made it to land was when it really started to pick up for me. The Queen was quite the character. She’s got the dangerous, evil Queen thing down and I was living for it.

The intensity was high once they reached the castle. I love these characters so much. I can’t wait to see what’s next. I’m really looking forward to the 4th-book, when I believe we’ll be entering the Land of Fire.

McGuire’s writing, as always, continues to impress. There’s such intention behind every word. The nuance is stunning and truly mind-boggling.

This entire world, the connection to the Alchemical Journeys series, the characters and the lore of it all is so fun to read and think about. There are so many layers, it’s the type of thing you could read over and over and still find new things each time.

I love that kind of story and will definitely continue to pick up anything in this world for as long as McGuire is putting them out.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I just adore this series and definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a dark, whimsical read.

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Review: Little Eve by Catriona Ward

~ megs14malloy

Little EveLittle Eve by Catriona Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Hot off the success of The Last House on Needless Street and Sundial, Catriona Ward’s 2018-novel, Little Eve was rereleased earlier this month.

I was super impressed with Ward’s most recent releases, so was very excited to check this one out as well. The synopsis sounded just as WTF as I would expect and the story itself didn’t disappoint in that regard.

This novel starts out with a bang, as the brutalized bodies of a family are discovered off the coast of Scotland, on the remote island of Altnaharra. The scene appears be ritualistic in nature.

The rest of the story fills in the pieces of the events that preceded that horrific event.

The narrative follows a few different perspectives and jumps around in the timeline as well. You mainly follow Eve and Dinah, who are two of the girls living on Altnaharra with the mysterious ‘Uncle’. Through their words you begin to understand what their life was like on the island.

There’s also the perspective of Chief Inspector Black, who becomes involved in Eve’s life. His view, from an outsider’s eyes, really helps to highlight the horrors of Altnaharra.

For the first quarter of this, I was well and truly confused. It is revealed later in the story why that might have been and I did come to understand why Ward would have written it that way. It made sense if you were seeing the world through the mind of these characters.

The tension and pace picks up at the story goes on. I had no idea who I could trust. I was loving so many of the reveals as the puzzle pieces began to fall into place.

Towards the end, it started to get a bit chaotic again and I was finding it a bit more difficult to track what was going on. In fact, I listened to a couple of the last chapters at least three times, trying to capture it all.

That is another thing, I did listen to the audiobook and I’m not sure, that could have added a bit to my confusion. The accent was a little tough for me, with my dumb foreign ears, so some names and words were hard to differentiate.

I think if I would have read a hard copy, maybe I would have had a slightly easier time keeping track of everything.

With this being said, the story itself was absolutely captivating. The atmosphere was rich and creepy as heck. I enjoyed the mystery of it all and finding out the truth.

While the ending wasn’t perfect for me, this was definitely a memorable one. Ward is unique and we love that. Each novel I have read from her is totally different from each other and also like nothing else I have read. That’s a gift.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I enjoyed this one. It’s dark content and stunningly-cold atmosphere is perfect for the Spooky Season.

I cannot wait to see what Ward comes up with next!!!

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Review: Ophie’s Ghost by Justina Ireland

~ megs14malloy

Ophie's GhostsOphie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

💙🖤👻🖤💙👻💙🖤👻🖤💙👻💙🖤👻🖤💙🖤👻🖤💙

On the night that Ophelia’s father is killed, and their Georgian home burned to the ground, she sees her first ghost. She takes it in like a child would, with surprise and wonder, but then she keeps it to herself. She knows it wouldn’t be considered normal.

Fleeing Georgia, Ophie and her mother head for the city of Pittsburgh to live with some of her father’s relatives.

For Ophie, this is a big change and it’s definitely difficult living with all her cousins and aunties. Adding to this stressful situation is the ghost thing.

It seems like now that Ophie has seen one, the flood gates have opened. She’s encountering them everywhere. Sometimes it seems like they need something from her. It can be tiring.

Ophie’s Mom is stressed too. She’s doesn’t want to be relying on these relatives forever, but it’s expensive to get a place in Pittsburgh. They need to save up.

Thus, her Mom pulls Ophie from school. She needs to go to work in order for them to make enough money to get their own place.

Without a choice, Ophie does as she is told and begins attending work each day with her Mom at Daffodil Manor as domestic help.

The Caruthers family, the long-time owners of Daffodil Manor, are very wealthy and have a rich history within the walls of the house. Some of the ghosts of the past remain, all too evident to Ophie.

The ghosts learn that Ophie can see them and they begin interacting with her on a regular basis. Soon Ophie finds herself investigating an old mystery, trying to find the truth of one of their deaths.

Having read previous YA-works from Justina Ireland, I knew that I was very interested in picking up her Middle Grade debut. I’ve always enjoyed her writing style, particularly how she seamlessly blends historical fiction with other genres, like horror.

This book does exactly that. The historical piece is so well done. I was transported to the early-1920s while reading. You can tell that a lot of research goes into her work and that she really cares about accuracy.

Ophie was a great main character to follow. Her strength throughout was inspiring. It starts off with a real tragedy and doesn’t get much easier for our young heroine over the course of the story.

I also appreciated the relationship that Ophie had with her mother. Her mother is obviously a strong woman, to go through what she did and be able to move her and her daughter to a new city, a completely different world really than what they were used to, and to still work hard and push on, it shows real perseverance.

It’s no surprise that Ophie would show the same strength of character in the face of challenges. While their relationship wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows, the bond felt very realistic and I liked that.

Another aspect that I really enjoyed were the short chapters about the different places. For example, The Attic, and then it will give a bit about the attic of Daffodil Manor, it’s history, what it has seen, how it feels. I love this.

I always enjoy when an author can thoughtfully create a true sense of place, making the places feel almost like characters unto themselves. Ireland definitely has a gift for that!

Overall, while this is fairly serious for a Middle Grade, there’s a ton of important topics explored and I enjoyed the characters a lot. I am definitely used to more humor in my MG, but this was a nice change of pace.

I would certainly recommend this one to all Middle Grade Readers, particularly the audiobook narrated by the always fantastic, Bahni Turpin. It’s a perfect little mystery for the Spooky Season. Get your ghost on!!

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Review: Daphne by Josh Malerman

~ megs14malloy

DaphneDaphne by Josh Malerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the best parts of any sleepover is scaring yourself. Whether it’s with scary movies, games or just scary stories told amongst friends, there’s no denying it’s a fun way to pass the time.

In the small town of Samhattan, when the girls basketball team gets together for a sleepover, one of the girls decides to tell the story of a local legend, Daphne.

Daphne attended their high school a few decades ago, around the same time as many of their parents actually. She was a 7-foot tall, social outcast, who wore Kiss makeup for no apparent reason and made a lot of people, children and adults alike, very uncomfortable.

Legend has it that she died tragically, at the hands of classmates and ever since that time will haunt anyone who dares to think about her. Daphne allegedly appears and kills with her bare hands.

The concept is along the lines of Bloody Mary. We all know her, many of us fear her, but this is worse. With Bloody Mary, you have to be consciously summoning her, saying her name, doing certain things that are said to bring her forth.

With Daphne, all you have to do is think about her though. Everyone knows that the more you try not to think about something, the more impossible it becomes. Thus, Daphne is now pretty much an inevitability for these teen girls.

Kit Lamb, one of the star players, has a really hard time not thinking about Daphne. As a matter of fact, she even asks the rim about her; a tradition the girls have.

She asks the rim if Daphne will kill her. The ball goes in. I think you can all deduce what that means. Then it is a non-stop terror train of thoughts about Daphne for poor Kit. How can she possibly shut these thoughts off?

Will any of the girls basketball team survive knowing Daphne’s story? Honestly, it’s so awful. How could they not think about her after being told?

Daphne was a weirdly-fun and captivating story. Even though I wasn’t crazy about some of the structural choices, it felt quite disjointed to me due to odd perspective shifts, overall, I really enjoyed it!

Truthfully, Malerman’s work has been hit or miss for me; we have a 50/50 relationship. I was actually thinking this would be the last shot I was going to take. Regardless, I’m glad I took the chance as this story paid off.

I really appreciated the exploration of anxiety through Kit’s perspective and also enjoyed the whole idea behind this town and Daphne’s legacy. The idea that it could collectively be blocked from the town memory, without anyone pushing for that to be so, was a really interesting concept.

That something so heinous and traumatic, a piece of history, could be swept under the rug, with everyone just pretending it didn’t exist. That sounds pretty true to life, doesn’t it?

The horror was fun. The concept of Daphne was very creative and well-imagined. There were scenes that definitely got my pulse going.

Additionally, this had some twists towards the end that I didn’t see coming. That absolutely contributed to my enjoyment. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I’m looking forward to more Malerman now!

Thank you to the publisher, Ballantine, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I definitely recommend this one to Slasher fans, or anyone looking for a thoughtful, spooky, fun read!

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Review: Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

~ megs14malloy

Lavender HouseLavender House by Lev AC Rosen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Set in 1952-San Francisco, Lavender House follows disgraced former-police officer, Evander ‘Andy’ Mills. Andy was recently fired from the SFPD after being caught in a compromising position during a raid on a gay bar.

Without steady work and shamed by former acquaintances, Andy is floundering, so when he is approached by an older woman named Pearl with a proposition, he readily accepts.

Pearl needs an experienced investigator to look into the death of her wife, soap magnate, Irene Lamontaine. Even though Irene’s death appears to be an accident, Pearl has her doubts. She needs the truth.

Thus, she invites Andy to their estate, Lavender House, to look into the incident. It seems like a simple, yet interesting assignment, and may be exactly what Andy needs to get his life back on track.

Arriving at Lavender House, Andy discovers something he has never experienced before. A safe haven filled with a found-family of Queer people.

Andy is astounded by how comfortable everyone is with just being themselves. There is no need to hide, no risk of hateful repercussions. How could any violence come to this place?

Before long, as Andy gets to know the individuals living within the gated estate, he begins to think that maybe Pearl is onto something after all. Perhaps Irene did fall at the hands of another, but was it a stranger, or someone the women consider family?

Lavender House was such a delightful change of pace for me. I’m not quite sure I have ever read a Queer Historical Murder Mystery before, but I sure would like more!!

I absolutely adored the setting and tone of this novel. Rosen brought a real film noir quality to it, which fit so perfectly with a 1950s-detective story, enhanced even more by the wonderful narration from Vikas Adam.

The themes and topics explored within were handled so tactfully and blended perfectly with the overall mystery. I liked how neither aspect was heavy-handed; they each contributed evenly to the overall course of the story.

I enjoyed all of the characters and loved the idea of this safe space set amidst a very unsafe world.

My one slight critique would be that the mystery felt almost too simple. The linear narrative and minimalist investigation left me wanting more. I do understand that there is something to be said for sticking to the basics and nailing what you do. I do get that.

I just feel like Rosen definitely has the talent to push this even further.

It sort of felt like driving a performance car on the highway. It’s comfortable and enjoyable, but you definitely miss the exciting twists and turns of a back-country road.

I just wish this could have been built out a little more. However, with this being said, can we talk about this ending!? This has to be the start of a series, right?

I mean, there could not have been a more perfect set-up for the continuation of this story. I really hope it happens, because I feel like there is a big need in the market for this type of story.

I would absolutely, 100%, no doubt in my mind, pick up the next book if there ever is one. I feel like I have so much to learn about Andy and I would love to tag along with him as he solves more mysteries!!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Forge Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that I get to see more of Andy Mills!

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Review: Ghostwritten by Ronald Malfi

~ megs14malloy

GhostwrittenGhostwritten by Ronald Malfi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ghostwritten is a collection of 4-novellas by one of the most compelling voices in Horror Fiction today, Ronald Malfi.

I didn’t know anything about this collection going in, seeing Malfi’s name on the cover was enough for me, but was so pleased to discover the connecting theme amongst the stories contained therein: BOOKS!

We all love books, don’t we?

How about haunted books, evil books or murderous books? Color me intrigued! I would definitely check them out.

This collection starts out with a bang with The Skin of Her Teeth. I adored that story. It was giving me Secret Window, Secret Garden vibes and I was living for it. The tone and suspense of it all helped me to fly through it so quickly.

It was crazy fun!

The second and third stories, The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride and This Book Belongs to Olo, were both enjoyable as well. They were so dark, fast-moving and creative. How does he come up with this stuff?

With these middle two though, for me, I wasn’t captivated to the same extent as I was with the first story. I began to think that maybe the first story would end up being my resounding favorite. Then I started the fourth and final story, aptly titled, The Story.

The Story involves a very dark web, twisted version of a Choose Your Own Adventure story. I was obsessed with those types of books when I was a kid.

I always wondered just what would happen if the choices I was making in the book actually had an effect on my real life. I guess Malfi once upon a time wondered the same thing…

I loved this one so much. It was horrendous in all the right ways. The way it ended, sheer perfection.

Overall, this was a completely enjoyable, sure to be memorable collection.

For me, since the first and fourth stories were 5-stars, and the second and third were around 3.5-stars, I decided to slice it right down the middle with a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ final rating. Also, I definitely recommend the audiobook!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Titan Books and Tantor Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

If you are looking for a creepy collection to pick up this Spooky Season, you should absolutely get your hands on Ghostwritten. There’s something for everyone here!!

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Review: Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner

~ megs14malloy

Mistakes Were MadeMistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Following her divorce, Erin Bennett feels like she and her ex-husband are in a competition for their daughter, Parker’s, attention. So, when Family Weekend rolls around at Parker’s college, Erin and her ex decide to split the nights.

On a night when Parker is having dinner with her Dad, Erin heads to an off-campus bar by herself. She’s looking for nothing more than a cold drink.

For Cassie Klein, Family Weekend is the perfect time to avoid campus like the plague. All those happy families, gross.

Thus, she decides to hit up an off-campus bar as a means of escape. She’s not looking for anything, but when she spots a beautiful woman sitting alone at the bar, she offers to buy her a drink.

Little did Cassie know that harmless gesture was going to lead to the most enticing one night stand of her life.

The next morning, Cassie’s friend Parker convinces her to go to breakfast with her to meet her Mom. She’s not super pumped about it, but Cassie tags along anyway.

Imagine her surprise when she walks into the restaurant and discovers Parker’s Mom is her steamy hook-up from the night before.

Erin is equally taken aback when her daughter walks in with the sexy girl from the night before. Erin had no idea Cassie was a college student, let alone a friend of her daughters.

Both women cover it up well, but their mutual attraction burns through every moment they are together. More unsettling than this though, is the fact that they can’t stop thinking about one another when they’re apart.

Cassie and Erin cannot stay apart. It’s like it’s against the laws of physics. They are drawn together like opposite poles of a magnet. Having no choice, they begin sneaking around.

It’s risky as heck, but it’s more than just great sex. Although neither wants to admit it at first, it’s complicated, they grow to really care for each other, but how the heck are they going to make this work? Is it even possible?

Meryl Wilsner’s debut novel, Something to Talk About was the first F/F romance published by Berkley. I was so stoked about it for months, but at the end, it left me underwhelmed.

I enjoyed the writing and the characters, but the pace was quite slow and it was lacking the steam I was looking for. Y’all, at 5% into Mistakes Were Made we had steam; a lot of it.

The pace of this one was night and day compared to that first book. I feel like Wilsner listened, because man oh man, did they deliver with this story.

The characters were still fantastic, there were some serious issues being explored, but the forbidden romance trope brought the fun. There were moments that I was a little uncomfortable for Parker, but at the end of the day, they are all adults and I liked how Wilsner wrapped it up.

Overall, I found this one to be highly entertaining. A huge success of a sophomore novel. I am definitely looking forward to more from Wilsner in the future.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This is a perfect example of why I never give up on an author after only one book.

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Review: Found Object by Anne Frasier

~ megs14malloy

Found ObjectFound Object by Anne Frasier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Jupiter Bellarose is an investigative journalist whose last project ended in tragedy. She feels responsible for the way things turned out and struggles to move past it.

She spends some time in a mental health hospital during her recovery and upon her release, her boss, Bennett, suggests that she take a break from her life in Minneapolis. He further suggests that perhaps it would be a good time to go home to Savannah, visit her father and work on an easy story.

Jupiter has avoided Savannah for a long time. As a place, it holds a lot of dark memories for her. Her mother, Marie Nova, a world-famous actress was actually murdered there when Jupiter was a teenager.

Jupiter, unfortunately, along with her father, stumbled upon the very gruesome crime scene, including her mother’s decapitated head, shortly after the police did. It was a scene that continues to haunt her.

It’s a real testament to how shaken up she was by the last assignment that she actually agrees to go back. Her new project is a fluff piece regarding the Lumet family and their cosmetics empire, Luminescent.

Jupiter’s mother was once the face of Luminescent cosmetics, so Jupiter already has a bit of knowledge, including first-hand experiences, with the family. She can get this done.

In Savannah, Jupiter is hit in the face with her past. The sudden overflow of memories makes her curious. Some things about that tragic night long ago don’t add up.

Jupiter begins to do what she does best, she digs and she digs, coming ever closer to the answers she seeks. Will she be able to find the truth, or will she be taken out before she can? There’s only one way to find out…

Found Object definitely surprised me with its ability to draw me in. I wasn’t sure if I would end up liking this or not, truth be told, but oh my word, once I started, I couldn’t put it down.

Some aspects of it were a bit ridiculous, but I didn’t even care. I was so intrigued by the horrifying story of Jupiter’s mother. I had to know what the truth was.

Jupiter was a great main character. She was well fleshed out and I felt like over the course of the story, I really came to understand her. She had a complicated history and her personality definitely matched that.

There were also some great side characters, Ian, a local police officer, and Poppy, his sweet and smart little niece, definitely stick out in my mind.

For me, the mystery was fun. I love the examination of long ago cases and this one didn’t disappoint.

Additionally, I liked watching Jupiter go about her investigation. Being an investigative reporter, it made sense that she would be as resourceful as she was. Having Ian as a friend during her time in Savannah definitely helped as well.

This concluded in a place that definitely left it open for a continuation of Jupiter and Ian’s story. I would absolutely, one hundred percent, no doubt in my mind pick up a second book if one were published.

No pressure, Anne Frasier, but when can I get it?

Thank you so much to the publisher, Thomas Mercer, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I truly had fun with this story.

Found Object releases this Tuesday, October 18th!!!

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Review: The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco

~ megs14malloy

The SacrificeThe Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

When a film crew from the United States arrives on Kisapmata, a deserted island in the Philippines, they are ready to get to work. They need their new show to be a success and with the content they’re after, it should be.

For me it was easy to picture this crew and their motivations. I was thinking something around the lines of Discovery shows such as The Curse of Oak Island, or The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch. You know the type of show I mean.

The thing with Kisapmata island is that a God is reputed to live within the island. He goes by different names, some consider him a Death God, some call him the Dreamer, but he is said to have the ability to grant unknowable power in exchange for eight, very specific, sacrifices.

Because of this legend, locals avoid the island as much as they can. It’s uninhabited and while they do have knowledge and respect of it, they tend to give the God his space.

The crew does discover one local teen, Alon, said to have a special relationship with the island. They’re a bit of a caretaker, spending a lot of time there and even maybe communing with the God.

Considered an expert of all things Kisapmata, the film crew are delighted when Alon agrees to stay with them and be their guide during the show.

As they settle in and begin to set up, a giant sinkhole appears in the middle of their camp. In it, belying logic, is a giant balete tree with a mummified corpse wrapped amongst it creepy-as-heck branches.

It’s like the corpse has been feeding the tree for years, but who is it and more importantly, how the heck is this tree growing underground?

Thus begins the horror that is this little island. From there stuff escalates real quick. The crew needs to get their story, but is the payoff going to be worth it?

People start seeing things, visions of people long dead and it seems nowhere is safe. As a storm rages offshore, they lose communication and have no means of escape. Is anyone going to get off this island alive?

Y’all, y’all, y’all! First of all, this is the perfect time of year to pick up this book. This story has almost everything you need for a phenomenal reading experience.

We have detailed and fascinating legends. We have, basically a curse. We have a dynamic film crew with well-fleshed out characters. We have a nonbinary main character. We have inclement weather trapping our cast at a remote location. We have atmosphere for days. We have stunning, toe-curling horror imagery. We have scenes that will make you sleep with the lights on.

The tension builds very quickly and then continues to build. It’s claustrophobic, it’s a bit panic inducing, it’s scary.

I will say that the pace increases so much towards the end, that it almost got a bit too chaotic. I found it more difficult to track what was happening towards the end and challenging to picture in my mind all that was happening. Hence, it’s not quite a 5-star for me.

That is 100% personal taste though, for many people, whose minds possibly work more quickly than my own, this will be a 5-star experience.

I have only read one other Rin Chupeco, The Girl from the Well, and I was super-impressed with the eeriness of that story as well. Chupeco definitely has the gift for horror. I would consider this to be a more-modern, YA-South Pacific version of The Ruins.

The Sacrifice is super-chilling and will stick with me for a long time to come. Chupeco truly knows how to set a scene. I had so much fun with this. 10-out-of-10 recommend!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Now I need to go back and devour Chupeco’s backlist!!

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Review: The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs

~ megs14malloy

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy: A Novel in CluesThe Last Equation of Isaac Severy: A Novel in Clues by Nova Jacobs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked up The Last Equation of Isaac Severy as book #4 for my TBR-Haul Project. I hauled this book in May 2018 as a Book of the Month selection. I was super excited for it initially, but then it fell off my radar.

Described as a Literary Mystery, it just sounded like something I would enjoy. Unfortunately, the reviews weren’t drawing me to it, even though I frequently find myself in the minority opinion on ratings.

This story takes place after the apparent suicide of mathematician, and eccentric family patriarch, Isaac Severy. After his death, Isaac’s granddaughter, Hazel, receives a strange letter from him in the mail.

The letter claims that a secret organization is after his final, reportedly dangerous, equation and he charges Hazel with delivering it to a colleague of his for safe keeping. But first, she needs to find it.

In L.A. for Isaac’s funeral, it becomes clear that Hazel isn’t the only one with her sights set on Isaac’s missing equation.

The entire Severy family is in attendance actually and oh boy, are they interesting. A family full of barely functioning geniuses left spiraling by Isaac’s sudden death. What could go wrong?

In the midst of all the family drama, Hazel must follow the clues left for her in her favorite novel by Isaac in order to find the equation before it’s too late. Will she be able to pull it off alone?

Y’all, I really enjoyed this; what a pleasant surprise! I’m glad I ignored the overall rating and made time for it. It’s honestly like a Wes Anderson film come to the page.

I devoured this once I started. The quirky characters, Hazel’s bizarre mission, it was all so much fun. I did end up listening to the audiobook and I felt it was really well done.

The writing actually reminded me a lot of some of Kate Racculia’s work, particularly Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts, which is definitely a bonus. It’s very smart, witty and darkly engaging. It’s different from pretty much everything else.

I definitely recommend this one for a change of pace. Ignore the ratings, dive in and enjoy the ride!

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